Tralee Bay Sailing Club
Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Relation to Children in Sailing Club Activities

TBSC POLICY STATEMENT
TBSC is fully committed to safeguarding the well being of its members. Every individual in TBSC should, at all times, show respect and understanding for their rights, safety and welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles and the guidelines contained in this Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Relation to Children in Sailing Club Activities. Verbal, physical, emotional or sexual abuse of any kind or threat of such abuse is totally unacceptable within TBSC, as in society in general.

This Code of Good Practice will be widely disseminated and applied to all instructors/volunteers and members of TBSC.

GLOSSARY

Child: For the purpose of this Code a child is any person under 18 years of age
Instructor/Volunteer: An instructor/volunteer is a person who assists the young participant to develop his or her sailing skills and abilities in a progressive way and usually in a non-competitive context.
Children’s Officer: The Children’s Officer is appointed within the club to act as a resource for all members of TBSC with regard to children’s issues. The Children’s Officer for 2002 is Michele Moore.
TBSC: Tralee Bay Sailing Club.

TBSC PRINCIPLES
Adults interacting with children in sailing are in a position of trust and influence. They should always ensure that they treat children with integrity and respect and that the self-esteem of children is enhanced. The trust implicit in adult-child relationships in sailing places a duty of care on all adults, voluntary or professional, to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the child while engaged in their sailing activity. All adult actions in sailing will be guided by what is best for the child and carried out in the context of respectful and open relationships. The following principles apply in TBSC:

• children’s involvement in sailing should be an enjoyable experience
• the safety of children should always be the paramount concern of those adults responsible for providing sailing opportunities at whatever level an individual adult is involved
• all adults have a responsibility to be aware of child protection as an issue
• Instructors / volunteers will be properly recruited and managed and appropriate training will be made available to them.

CHILDREN’S OFFICER
The appointment of a Children ’s Officer in TBSC is an essential element in the creation of a quality atmosphere in the sailing club. The Children’s Officer acts as a resource for all members of TBSC with regard to children’s issues.

The role of the Children’s Officer in TBSC is:

• To promote awareness of this Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Relation to Children in Sailing Club Activities within the club and particularly among the children and their parents/guardians.
• To ensure that children have a voice in the running of their club and can talk freely about their experiences in their sailing activities.
• To see that children know how to make their concerns known to instructors /volunteers or members. appropriate adults or agencies.
• To encourage the involvement of parents/guardians in the club activities
• To report as required to the Main Committee of TBSC.

Children ’s Officers do not have the responsibility of investigating or validating child protection concerns within the club and have no counseling or therapeutic role. These roles are filled by the Statutory Authorities, the Department of Health and Children and the Gardái, as outlined in Children First and Our Duty to Care. It is, however, possible that child protection concerns will be brought to the attention of the Children ’s Officer. In this event, it is essential that any allegations or complaints are reported to the Children’s Officer within TBSC, whose responsibility it is, to refer on such allegations or complaints to the Statutory Authorities (See Appendix 1).

POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Everyone taking part in sport, irrespective of his or her role, should be able to do so in a safe environment. The purpose of creating and adhering to policies and procedures is to facilitate and encourage best practice.

PRACTICE
Adults in children’s sailing should always strive to interact positively with children, enhancing the child’s involvement and enjoyment of the sailing activity. This Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Relation to Children in Sailing Club Activities assists in the achievement of these aims and can also help to protect instructors/volunteers in their various roles by providing a framework for the promotion of good practice.

DISCIPLINARY,COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES
The investigation of suspected child abuse is the responsibility of the Statutory Authorities and will  not be undertaken by the Children’s Officer or any other club member of TBSC. The standard reporting procedure outlined in the Statutory Authorities guidelines will be followed by TBSC and adhered to by its members.

TBSC PROCEDURES
TBSC will appoint a Disciplinary Committee with clearly defined procedures to resolve problems relating to the conduct of its members, including bullying. The committee will comprise five representatives as follows: the Commodore of TBSC, one representative of the Main Committee of TBSC, the Children’s Officer of TBSC, one representative of the Dingy Committee of TBSC and one ordinary registered member of TBSC. A gender balance of 2/3 will be maintained. The Disciplinary Committee will meet when required.

In the event of a complaint the following procedures will apply:

1. The disciplinary committee will initiate an investigation following a complaint into any incident of suspected misconduct that does not relate to child abuse.

2. The disciplinary committee will furnish the individual with details of the complaint being made against him/her and afford him/her the opportunity of providing a response either verbally or in writing.

3. It will, as soon as possible, inform the Main Committee of TBSC of the progress of the disciplinary process.

4. Where it is established that an incident of misconduct has taken place, the disciplinary committee will notify the person involved of any sanction being imposed. The notification will be made in writing, setting out the reasons for the sanction. If the person involved is under 18 years of age, correspondence will be addressed to the parents/guardians.

5. Written confidential records of all complaints will be safely and confidentially kept.

6. If the person against whom the complaint was made is unhappy with the decision of the Disciplinary Committee s/he will have the right to refer the matter to the Irish Sailing Association. However, efforts to resolve the issue at local level will be exhausted before the Irish Sailing Association is engaged in attempts to resolve the matter.

RECRUITMENT OF INSTRUCTORS/VOLUNTEERS
TBSC requires all instructors /volunteers to complete an application form (see sample form in Appendix 2). All instructors must have obtained the Irish Sailing Association instructors qualification(s).
 
GUIDELINES FOR INSTRUCTORS/VOLUNTEERS
Any injuries or illnesses sustained by a child while participating in a sailing activity should be recorded by the instructors/volunteers in an accident/incident book, with a note of the action taken in relation to each one.

Where possible, instructors/volunteers should avoid:

• spending excessive amounts of time with children away from others
• taking sessions alone
• taking children to the Instructor’s/volunteer’s home
• taking children on journey ’s alone in their car
• smoking and the use of alcohol in the company of children

Instructors/volunteers should not:

• use bad language
• use any form of corporal punishment or physical force on a child
• exert undue influence over a participant in order to obtain personal benefit or reward
• engage in rough physical games, sexually provocative games or allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any kind, and/or make sexually suggestive comments about, or to, a child

GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS
Parents/guardians have the primary responsibility for the care and welfare of their children within sailing as a sport. Parents/guardians should encourage their children to participate in sport for fun and enjoyment and should ensure that their child ’s experience of sailing as a sport is a positive one. They should always remember that children sail for their own enjoyment not that of the parents/guardians.

Parents/guardians should encourage their children to tell them about anyone causing them harm. They should make themselves aware of the TBSC procedures and policies outlined in this Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Relation to Children in Sailing Club Activities.

To assist in the promotion of good practice within TBSC parents/guardians should :

• show appreciation of and respect for the instructors/volunteers and their decisions
• encourage their child to abide by the rules of the club
• focus on their child ’s efforts rather than performance
• focus on the fun and participation of the child in the sailing activity
• liaise with the instructors/volunteers in relation to the times of sailing sessions and medical conditions that their children may have.

Parents/guardians should be:

• informed if their child sustained an injury/illness while participating in a sailing activity
• informed of disciplinary problems or concerns relating to their children.

Parents/guardians should not:

• treat the club as a child-minding service.

GUIDELINES FOR CHILDREN
Children have a great deal to gain from sport in terms of their personal development and enjoyment. The promotion of good practice in sport will depend on the co-operation of all involved, including the children participating in any sailing activities. Children must be encouraged to realise that they also have responsibilities to treat other children and instructors/volunteers with fairness and respect.

Children participating in TBSC activities are entitled to:

• be safe
• be happy, have fun and enjoy sport
• participate in sailing activities on an equal basis, appropriate to their ability and stage of development
• be treated with dignity, sensitivity and respect
• comment and make suggestions in a constructive manner
• make a complaint in an appropriate way and have it dealt with through an effective complaints procedure
• be afforded appropriate confidentiality
• have the facility to have a voice in the running of their club

Children should undertake to:

• be fair, do their best and have fun
• respect instructors/volunteers and accept their decisions with grace not a grudge
• respect fellow members
• respect fellow sailors, they are not enemies, they are partners in a sporting event
• give fellow sailors a hand if they are injured or have problems with equipment
• accept apologies from fellow sailors when they are offered
• approach the Children ’s Officer with any questions or concerns they may have.

Children should not:

• cheat
• use bad language
• shout at, or argue with, instructors/volunteers , club members or fellow sailors
• bully
• use violence
• tell lies about club members or fellow sailors
• spread rumours
• keep secrets about any person who may have caused them harm.

BULLYING
The risk of bullying and harassment by adults and by children should be anticipated by taking active steps to prevent it occurring. A prompt and decisive response will be made to any indications that it is taking place.

What is Bullying?
Bullying is repeated aggression be it verbal, psychological or physical, which is conducted by an individual or group against others. It is behaviour, which is intentionally aggravating and intimidating and occurs mainly among children in social environments such as schools, sports clubs and other organisations working with children. It includes behaviours such as teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting or extortion by one or more children against a victim.

Incidents of bullying will be not be tolerated under any circumstances. Reports of bullying will be investigated and dealt with immediately by the Disciplinary Committee.

Sanctions
The use of sanctions is an important element in the maintenance of discipline. However, instructors/volunteers should have a clear understanding of where and when particular sanctions are appropriate. Sanctions should be used in a corrective way that is intended to help children. They should never be used to retaliate or to make an instructor/volunteer feel better. The age and developmental stage of the child should be taken into consideration when using sanctions.

Recommended use of Sanctions
Sanctions should be fair and consistent and in the case of persistent offence, should be progressively applied. The following steps are suggested:

• rules should be stated clearly and agreed at the start of each course/event
• a warning should be given if a rule is broken
• a sanction (for example, no sailing allowed for a specified period of time) should be applied if a rule is broken for a second time
• if a rule is broken three or more times, the child will be spoken to, and the parents/guardians will be informed
• The ultimate sanction is that the child will be asked to leave the course/event
• when violations of rules or other mis-behaviours occur, sanctions should be applied in an impartial way
• sanctions should not be used as threats
• a child should not be sanctioned for making errors.

If rules are broken sanctions should be implemented consistently, fairly and firmly. Sanctions should not be applied if an instructor/volunteer is not comfortable with them. If an appropriate action cannot be devised right away, the child should be told that the matter will be dealt with later, at a specified time and as soon as possible. All steps will be taken to enable a child to understand why sanctions are imposed.

APPENDIX 3

Private and Confidential

Sample Reference Form

Name:

The above has expressed an interest in becoming an instructor/volunteer and has given your name as a referee. This post involves substantial access to children. As an organisation committed to the welfare and happiness of children, we are anxious to know if you are satisfied that this person is suitable to work with children in a sailing capacity.

How long have you known this person?

In what capacity?

Are you satisfied that                                                           
is suitable to work with children in a sporting capacity?                   Yes / No
(If you have answered no, we will contact you in confidence)

Signed:

Date: